Melissa - I totally agree about the weight lifting. I love how powerful it makes me feel. Fingers crossed on your BF's raise.

Ammi - WOW! Your new pic is fantastic! Hope Beth has mended well. You have definitely been missed.

Mel - My take on carbs is that unless you are specifically doing a low carb thing, the most important part is to find the right balance for you in order to not be hungry all the time. If I eat too many carbs I am way more hungry throughout the day. There is nothing bad about carbs, although I agree with Nelie that the less processed ones the better.

Jill - Glad to hear you are back in with things and that the scale is cooperating (at least for the moment)

Hello’s to everyone else too – Zelma, Annie, Luan, Patti, Angie, Sharon, Brenda, Xena, Nightkatt, Kenya, Heather, Kayley, Newsnerd, Sue, Priscilla, Misti, Jen, Vicki, Valerie, Lilion, Chrissy, Becca, and anyone else I missed.

Tracey – How are things now that the weather in NY has become tolerable? Did you end up getting some workout gear?

Crock – How did the job interview go? Have you heard anything?

Julee – Would love to hear how the wedding plans are progressing. If you get a second we would love an update.

Well, I was going to write something about myself, but I just realized that I haven't had dinner and I am STARVING. Maybe later.

Hi guys
Just checking in tonight. Kinda fellin crappy. I think I have an ear/nose/throat infection. Everything hurts and I am super tired. I came home from work and slept for about 3 hours and I am heading back there again. I cranked the A/C and turned on my little electric blanket and stretched out. It felt wonderful!

BTW, I changed my ticker to reflect my damage that I did over my weekend. Once again, playing with this same darn 5-10lbs. I just have to keep telling myself that I can do this!

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow and stay strong ladies!
Brenda

Well ... I am very proud of myself today! I still arent doing much on the flyer .. but today I went out ON MY OWN!!! Well I took the dogs lol .. and they gave me something to focus on cos I purposely didnt put them on leads that way I had to keep alert and watch what they were doing rather than thinking about being out on my own .. AND if that wasnt good enough .. I walked for over 1km delivering my leaflets for Avon!! I really dont care at this point if anyone actually rings lol ... Im just happy I did it ... I kept telling myself just to the next lampost .. then I saw a street turn off and thought ok .. up to there instead .. by then I was almost halfway through my leaflets so I thought should I keep going and just do one side of the street or cross the road and do the other side back home .. I was contemplating that when I looked back to see how far away from home I was and got a little panicky .... sooo I crossed the street and delivered the leaflets, but there were less on the other side, so when I reached my driveway I thought well .. I will go in the other direction just to that corner .. so delivered the rest of the leaflets, only I was 7 short when I was on the way back to my place so have printed up some more and will get my daughter just to finish those ones off .. Im exhausted ... and elated! I made sure to dress up really warm cos its a cold wind out there, and I took my water with me (fortunately cos the wind kept drying out my throat) .. the dogs had a blast (as we went further than the corner lol)... so I walked for about 30 minutes Even gave up watching my TV programme before I changed my mind lol ..

Me gonna go do a happy dance now And get some of these clothes off cos Im sweltering now rofl.

Brenda hun ... hope you get better soon

WOW Ammi.. I am amazed at your new look! I posted in the other thread but wanted to add a comment here too... LOL I honestly looked to see who the newbie was.

Thanks to all for the suggestions on shaking things up. I did drop the pounds back down to where I was (245) so hopefully more will go soon. I think I probably need more patience, too, as I've seen some of you with pretty long plateaus. I made an appt with my doctor for next week too, to get her input. She is super supportive! I do quite a bit of combination in exercise but mostly aerobic walking (since I can do it at work) and water aerobics. I probably do need to vary it more and work in some other stuff; also probably need to add more grains to my eating; it is low as I don't much like most of them.

But I honestly do think part of the problem is that I am building muscle and losing fat, as clothes which I could not wear a few weeks ago are big on me now. And I can feel muscles all over me which were not there before! And I think that part of it really is (I admit) just wanting the weight to come off FASTER without the plateaus.

I do appreciate the valuable input and will look them over more later and maybe discuss some of it with my doctor.

For some people the amount of exercise I do might be too much, but not for me... I want more and more of it. When I was younger and in shape I was extremely athletic and I have really missed not being able to do things, so exercising a lot "lights my fire." I don't recommend it for everybody though LOL.

Hi everyone!

Melissa - you mentioned earlier you wanted to do something for hubby re his raise. Maybe a card would be nice.. a congratulations card? If it was my hubby I'd prob slip in a few Tim Hortons (that's a coffee shop in case some of you don't have them) gift certificates.? My hubby loves his coffee. It's not an expensive gift but it's a token to show you thought something special. Congrats to him, that's great news!

Ammi - yes like the others said, great new photo, you look really healthy and fresh.

Nightkatt-
Awesome things you did today! Firs signing up to do Avon and then going out and delivering alone, and 1k at that! It is wonderful that you did something you wanted to do even if it made you a little nervous. I'm so happy for you, and nice that you feel great about it.

Misti-
Glad you went back down and good idea to see the doc. Can't hurt, right? Maybe if you're interested you could try one of those workout DVD's too? You can rent some from the library maybe and see if there's any you like. I have 2 of them and I find them a challenge but I put them on when I don't feel like doing anything else. It's something to conquer for me. I can't do much before I get wiped out but they have some yoga ones I'm interested in trying too.

Hubby and I went for a 30 min walk tonight after dinner. I am still getting used to walking outside so I find my legs get tired easy. I'll keep at it and I'm sure my time will increase. I keep forgetting to bring that distance tracker thingie with me so I have no idea how far I went. I'll try to remember it next time. grr.

~ Angie

Hello Ladies, This will be really quick as I have been really busy. Just wanted to say hello to all I am staying OP and keeping busy trying to get the children ready for the new school semester. Have a good day everyone.

Hello All,

Poor Beth is having a hard time of it. She is just getting some relief from the pain of having her tonsils out and now she is suffering with TOM pains. She is actually worse with that than she was with her post surgical pain. She is actually in bed with my electric heat wrap right now, sleeping. Yet all week she has been down on the sofa watching TV and enjoying being waited on hand and foot Girls have it rough don't they!!

Missy - congrats on the 6 lb weight loss all that walking you are doing is definitely paying off

Congrats to your hubby on his promotion and raise

Luan - did you get my offline message on Yahoo the other day? One day I will actually catch you for a chat

Annie - I am so happy that you went back to Curves, can't wait to hear what you weigh at your next WI. I am sure you will see a loss.

Angie - I love pineapple too, especially dried pineapple. I have a little of it every night along with some dried papaya, YUM. It certainly satisfies my sweet tooth.

Thanks for the compliments on my new avatar, it's a photo that was taken on my birthday. My last pic that I had on here was taken on Beth's birthday in May and I was surprised when I compared them to see that I looked even thinner (in the face anyway lol), so I changed the avatar

That's great that you have seen another loss on the scale. I can kind of understand why you prefer to weigh daily, but how do you feel if you see a loss on your daily weigh ins, but then nothing when you have your official weigh in? That would kill me, so I stick to weighing once a week, and if I could get away with it I would NEVER weigh. I hate the scales

Thanks for sharing the differences you are experiencing already after an 18 lbs loss. It's weird isn't it how being over 300 lbs, even by 15 lbs or less can render us disabled in a lot of ways. I couldn't even put my own shoes and socks on, my back was always bad, and like you, there was no way I could walk up and down the stairs like a fit person does. Yet getting under 300 lbs makes all the difference and it feels FANTASTIC doesn't it

Jill - hey, I had seen you were back and I kept meaning to PM you at least to say nice to see you, but I just didn't have chance, sorry. It is lovely to see you back posting again though, now no more disappearing please

What a horrible time to have a possible rent increase, November. That's the last thing you need. Are you looking out for other possible places to rent just in case you do end up being asked to pay an extortionate amount of rent on the place you are in now? It will be such a shame if you have to move, so I am keeping my that you won't have to!!

Nelie - I recently read similar to what you posted about, that shaking up your exercise can help break a plateau. The quote I read was saying that as long as you do something as little as changing the order in which you do the exercising it can make a difference. I am definitely keeping it in mind for when I hit my first plateau.

I am lucky that I don't have to worry too much about my sodium intake, well except to worry that I am getting enough I have an ileostomy and I don't absorb salt into my system like a person without an ostomy does, so I have to make sure I have plenty of it. Bliss because I love salt

Glad to hear that you got a good night's sleep. You are right about it being torture when you are tired and can't sleep. Have you tried herbal sleeping tablets? I tried them years ago and found that they did work. Nowadays I am lucky enough not to suffer from insomnia, but if I did I would either have the herbal tablets again or half a bottle of vodka On a diet though so I guess I would have to give the latter a miss

Nancy - thanks so much for what you said about my new picture, I felt great when that photo was taken. It was my birthday and I had just walked nearly 5 miles and felt ready to burst with pride. And of couse at the time I was holding my birthday treat, a bowl of icecream, (had to cut that out of the photo to go on here though, didn't want to be a bad influence LOL).

I am sorry that you still have trouble with the stairs sometimes, is it because you run out of breath, or because you have back or knee trouble, or something completely different. There used to be a show on over here, I forget what it's called, but two experts in diet and nutrition help an overweight person to eat properly and shed the lbs. When they have lost a fair bit of weight, they have to put on a body suit with lots of pockets and the pockets get filled with packs of lard, or sugar to make up the amount of weight the person had lost. They then have to climb a flight of stairs, and the extreme trouble they had doing it used to shock them. Well the extreme trouble they showed on the show is how it used to be for me all the time. It didn't help that I live in a house that has an upstairs and downstairs lol. Now though I can take the stairs easily, and just the other day my SD Caleigh said to me that she thought it was her dad coming down because of how fast I was going!! She is used to me coming down them at a snails pace. Pretty cool NSV there. I am sure it won't be long until you are having NSVs relating to stairs too

Zelma - thanks for the compliments on my avatar picture. I haven't been called cute in a long time Now if only I had a cute body to match I'd be landed I agree with you though that there is quite a difference in my before pics and that new one. I have nearly lost all of my double chin, WOOHOO. Oh and about not knowing how to type a wolf whistle!!

How are you coping with the loooooooooooooong wait to hear if you won the slimming competion? I wonder why it takes them so long to decide, they surely can take one look at your before and after pic and realise YOU are the winner

Patti - I am looking forward to when you put your photo on here, it will be lovely to put a face to the person I enjoy 'talking' to so much

NightKatt - I am so thrilled for you that not only did you decide to become an Avon rep now, but more importantly that you went out ON YOUR OWN and walked so far without having a panic attack. You should be so proud of yourself I have had various surgeries over the past 3 years with long painful recoveries and in that time I have had to totally rely on my hubby to look after me, or when I was up to going out, to be there to support me as I would often nearly either pass out, or fall from being in pain or just weak. The problem is that now I won't go out without him. I have panic attacks too, and I get so angry at myself. I am fortunate right now that hubby isn't working and that he can be with me all the time, but I need to sort myself out before he does find work or I am going to be in a big mess. You and Annie who has also overcome panic attacks are both an inspiration to me. I really have to sort myself out.

Sue - I am glad to hear that you made it through the first week of being OP, I think that is always the hardest week and once you pass that you are well on your way.

I have a friend, actually she does pop on here sometimes, Juliet, she had the same worry as you about the desks in college. It's awful isn't it how something like that can really put a dampner on our enjoyment of something. I am glad you managed to get a table and chair to sit at, though what a NSV and feeling of pride you will have the day that you can slip behind one of those desks!!

Brenda - I am really sorry to hear that you are feeling unwell, if it is an ear/nose and throat infection that you have I hope you will get to the doctors quick smart for some antibiotics

On my blog I notice that you commented on how your feet hurt like mine do when you use the Gazelle Rider. Isn't that odd. I am pleased to say that although mine still do end up hurting for the last 5 or 10 minutes of my 30 minutes work out on there, it's a big improvement on how bad they used to hurt when I first started using the Rider. Hopefully the more weight I lose the less pain I will have. Tony Little advertises the rider as one that can take up to 350 lbs depending on which version you buy. He should also put that if you are at the maximum starting weight your feet are going to suffer LOL.

Sorry that you had a gain over the weekend, but you know you can lose it againk, and this time you are going to keep it off and carry on losing. Have faith in yourself

Misti - lol, no way, you didn't really have to check out who the newbie was did you I didn't think I looked that different. Unlike YOU. WOW I love your photo with your new hair cut. I read that you asked for something, short, feminine and sassy, well I hope you tipped your stylist well because that is exactly what you got. I can't believe that you look even younger than you did in your old avatar photo!!

I am glad you lost those stupid lbs that snuck on you recently. I totally agree with you that you must be gaining from muscle build up. You do so much exercise it's bound to be building muscle, there's no way you could gain back fat when you are dieting and exercising as wonderfully as you are!!

Rkrs - glad that you are staying OP and doing well. Hope things are going well getting the children ready for going back to school. I had started organising things just before Beth went in to have her tonsils removed. I have been stuck in the house since then because Beth has to stay indoors for 2 weeks, but once the final week is up I shall be going out again and will carry on buying what they need to go back to school. It's such an expensive time isn't it!!

Sharon - how are you doing, sorry I haven't been able to get onto MSN, I have missed chatting and hearing how you and the family are. I have a couple of emails to answer when I am done here, but then I shall be putting MSN on and shall look for you.

Speaking of emails, I best get a move on, don't want to fall behind again. So take care all, and have a great day,

Hugs,

Ammi

Ammi - It wouldn't surprise me if they had already chosen the winner, but they just don't want people to know yet, so the announcement in the magazine is a surprise to everyone. I am still getting people to vote though, just in case they are tossing up between a couple of us.

I am glad you put the birthday pic up as your avatar. You emailed some pics to me from your birthday, but I couldn't open them. I think I must have some blocker set up or something.

Sorry to hear that Beth isn't feeling the best. When do the girls go back to school? I hope that Beth has some time to actually ENJOY her holidays.

Take care,

Zelma

I have been holding off and holding off, but today I am changing my ticker back up a few pounds (to 300) to reflect what the scale actually said today. It is getting tough not to be upset about this since I basically haven't lost anything in the two months since the procedure. For the last month I have been back to working out consistently, so that is probably not the issue. I have had a few event eating times off plan, but I have generally been within my calorie ranges. In fact I had dropped my lunch total when I started bringing my lunch down by about 200 calories. I am going to try and push those back up a bit to see if I was going too low for the early part of the day.

It is of course possible that my body is still healing from the procedure. In the same way you need to keep taking antibiotics after it feels you don’t need them anymore, even though I don’t feel it doesn’t mean the aftereffects aren’t still wreaking havoc on my system. However I have promised myself that if things don’t settle back down in the next few weeks I will go back to the doctor and get checked out. In the meantime, I just need to keep being patient.

Hi all,

The heat is cooling down here and I'm hoping to go hiking this weekend. There are two hikes that I would like to do. One is a 5 mile hike that has limited climbing while the other is about 3 miles with lots of climbing, including some scrambles. We'll see how the weather holds out

I actually woke up early this morning and exercised. I haven't done that in a long time. I think it is important that I get some exercise every day, no matter what it is.

About stairs... I have some major balance issues, not sure if it is my weight or eyesight or what not but I am always careful walking down stairs. My hiking abilities have improved it somewhat but even sometimes I have to be especially careful. I much rather go up stairs than down stairs.

Ammi - You look wonderful. I need to post a new pic sometime soon as well.

Vilandra, you might not believe it but you have inspired me!! xxxx Reading about how good you felt because of exercising I decided to give it a try!!!. I managed a salsa-based exercise video, I did the full 20 minutes too. Though I had to be careful in case it hurt my ankle but I took it steady and did it.
Nancy I'm sorry your weight isn't going down, if you've checked your food intake & are exercising I suppose you'll just have to stick with it, the weight HAS to come off. I wish I could give you a hug better, but I am thinking of you and I KNOW the weight will come off.xxxx
Annie, great for going to curves again I hope everything goes well. What has happened about the house buying?xxxx
I am apparently UP a pound and I'm not happy!!!! Another reason which got me exercising again. I'm not up to walking very far, just 10-15 minutes but by next week, hopefully I can walk into town & back.
Nightkatt, BRILLIANT on doing Avon, I used to and it is a great way to get to know your neighbours and get out of the house. Jilly's suggestion of wearing an Avon badge is a good idea people often want to buy Avon but don't have a rep. I'm sure it will help you get out more and give you confidence.xxxx
I have to go, I have seen so many of you losing weightxxx Just hope I can keep up with you all!!!!
xxxsharon